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Some low-income Franklin County residents could soon have easier access to water and sewage services.

The Low Income Water and Sewer Discount Program offers a 20 percent discount on water and sewer usage to eligible residents.

That would save the average eligible customer about $15.45 per month on their water and sewer bills, according to figures from the Franklin County Department of Sanitary Engineering.

County commissioners authorized the program yesterday.

“We’re providing them with a basic need,” said County Commissioner John O’Grady.

To qualify, customers must already participate in at least one low-income program — such as food stamps or Medicaid — or have an income below the poverty level.

Interested customers can download the program application on the county’s website (http://cleanwater.franklincountyohio.gov) or call 614-525-3940 for more information. Applicants must reapply every year.

The sanitary-engineering department provides water and sewage services to about 40,000 of the county’s 1.2 million residents. About 17 percent of them live below the poverty line.

That might not seem like much in the grand scheme of things. But even as a “tiny provider in the water and sewer world of Franklin County,” O’Grady said the department is committed to helping families with less means.

“We take this stuff very seriously,” O’Grady said.

It’s hard to say how much money the program will cost because the county did not try to gauge the potential number of users, said Tyler Lowry, a spokesman for the Franklin County commissioners.Columbus officials say the amount should be small.

The county buys some of its water, as well as sewer services, from the city, said Stephen Renner, director of the county’s Department of Sanitary Engineering. The city has agreed to help with the discount, he said.

“When we take off the reduction for the consumers, the city of Columbus … is actually going to take off the commodity charges on our bills,” Renner said.

Laura Young Mohr, spokeswoman for Columbus’ Department of Public Utilities, said the loss of revenue because of the discount will be insignificant, as it’s already factored into the department’s rate model.

This isn’t the area’s first effort to improve access to clean water. Some neighborhoods have dealt with water problems for decades. The city of Columbus once refused to extend water lines to some unincorporated areas unless they were annexed into the city.

In 2010, however, the city struck a deal after an annexation dispute with the Hollywood Casino. Columbus’ water lines, officials agreed, would extend to 23 neighborhoods. Only Leonard Park has seen changes, but a timetable is in the works, officials say.

In other business, the commissioners yesterday also approved requests to the Ohio Department of Transportation to lower speed limits on three county roads.

In some stretches, speed limits on Brice and Bixby roads would decrease from 55 mph to 50 mph. Also, the speed limit on an area of Long Road would fall from 55 mph to 35 mph. The changes are to increase safety.